Grow Up
by At Your Mercy
Summary: Serena is pushed over the limit by the others, and runs away. A year later there is trouble, so she returns to help. There is jealousy, but this will have a happy ending, don't worry.
1. Just Too Much

Soul Searching Ch. 1

Rae finished off a monster and then turned to Serena. "This time, you've gone too far," she yelled at Serena.

"What were you doing? What were you thinking?" Mina nearly screamed at her while Lita glared as she tended to the wounded Ami.

'I can't believe it,' Serena thought to herself, 'I missed! How in the hell had that happened? She hadn't done anything different.' She snapped out of her shock as she saw what had happened to Ami. She ran over to her friend only to be blocked by the others.

"You'll only make it worse," Rae spit at her. "Ami would never have gotten hurt if it wasn't for you! You missed! You fricking missed with your stupid tiara. You are worthless. We'd be so much better off without you!"

How could they believe she did that on purpose? Serena couldn't believe it. She just looked at her friends, future daughter, and love. "Fine," she stated simply, and turned around.

"Good. Go. Just don't come back." She heard yelled to her retreating back.


	2. Goodbyes

Soul Searching Ch. 2

The tears were streaming down her cheeks as she packed. "It's a good thing Mom, Dad and Sammy are at Grandma's." Serena said to herself, "It only makes this easier." She silently said goodbye to almost everything in her room, she didn't have room to bring all of her past with her were she was going.

She was nineteen, she reminded herself, she had been in college for a year already, but she needed to start over. This was her chance, the Scouts didn't need her anymore, her relationship with Rini and Darien was a joke. All she did was embarrass all of them anyway. She really had no reason to stay.

She carried her bags downstairs, and wrote a note for her parents, setting it on the kitchen table.

'_Dear Mom, Dad, Sammy and Rini,_

_I'm sorry to leave you like this – but I have to do some thinking. I have to grow and become the adult I need to be. I cont do that here, so I've gone someplace that I can. I'm not telling you where I have gone, nor will I contact you – I need to do this myself. I love you very much. – Serena'_

She scribbled a note for Luna, Rini, the Girls, and Darien.

'_I'm sorry to be such a bother. I know you'll be fine without me, you've told me. So obviously you feel that you can. Oh, and Rae – you're welcome, now there is no one to stand between you and Darien. Rini – I will always love you! Darien – you will always be in my heart, but don't feel obligated to stay faithful, as Rae can be quite convincing, I know. Don't worry, I'm sure I will find someone to replace you as Rae will be replacing me. One day, you all will realize the truth behind what happened to cause this, and believe me, you will regret it. But the past is in the past, and I am moving towards the future. Goodbye, and thank you for everything Luna, you were truly a second mother to me! – Serena_

She then ran back to set the letter in her room where only Luna would find it, quietly exited the house, and started towards her destination; London.


	3. Celebrating

Soul Searching Ch. 3

Two years later

Serena felt liberated! She was brilliant, free, and fabulous! A new person! She could conquer the world! Actually, she had just been promoted, and was now going out to celebrate with some of her college friends, but it all feels about the same, or so Serena thought.

"You are only just graduated this year, and you're already the second in command. The second bloody top editor of the paper." Her friend Chelsea complained. "I'm only joking," she said, chuckling at the wounded look on her roommates face. "You know I'm ecstatic for you!"

"Ha! Chels – you know you are in line for my old position, right?"

"Really,"

"Yep, I've been talking to Teddy, and she agrees that you would be the best for the job." With that, Chelsea through her arms around Serena.

"Oh Rina – you're the absolute best. Hey – let's go get totally smashed to celebrate." Chelsea suggested. They were already going to pick up the girls, but getting wasted seemed like so much more fun than the dinner they had been planning.

They arrived at Meg and Kate's flat to find them waiting at the door.

"We don't care what you two had planned, we're going to go to Scotty's." Meg said, bouncing into the cab.

"We thought that the pub would be the best place tae spend the evening – and the cute lads all go tae that one." Explained Kate in the Scottish brogue the girls all found so endearing. They laughed and climbed into the cab.

"Ooh, you got the Limo," Kate exclaimed, sitting down across from Serena. "I hadn't even noticed."

"Well, Serena is glowing," said Meg, "That diverted my attention for a moment as well." She giggled, "But a big promotion'll do that to a girl, or is it something else?" She teased.

They arrived at the pub and quickly went inside, out of the dark drizzle outside. They got stared almost immediately. They didn't pay much attention to it, as they had always dressed scantily when they were celebrating something. Not that it was anything too scandalous. They were all modest girls, after all, but with their figures and outfits, they certainly attracted attention and the opposite sex.

"Hallo girls," Their friend Charley said from behind the bar, "what'cha celebratin' tonight?"

"Rina's promotion," answered Chelsea, "How bouts a round for the gel," she prodded.

"Anythin' for you, doll." Charley responded, and started pouring.

They all got their drinks and headed for an empty table. Meg was immediately asked to dance. Serena and Chelsea followed out onto the floor, while Kate enjoyed her scotch-whisky. Soon all four were grinding to the beat with their respective partners.

Around 11:30 they decided to call it a night, and headed back to Kate and Meg's to crash.


	4. Ben

Soul Searching Ch. 4

The next day, despite a screaming head, Serena got up early for work. When she arrived, she spoke briefly with her boss, then made her way to her new office. She smiled to herself as she looked around. 'If only they could see me now,' she thought to herself, but was interrupted by a knock at her open door. She turned around and saw four or five guys crowding at the entryway.

"Congrats Serena," her secret crush, Ben said from the front of the pack. He then came into the room and handed her a bouquet of flowers. "For your new office," he explained then silently pointed to a nearly concealed card. "My story will be on your desk by three," he said non-challantly, as he turned and walked from the room.

Serena had secretly liked Ben since she started working for the company. He, like the rest of the pack at the door asked her out once in a while, but she had found quickly that no one was Darien.

"Thanks you guys," she said as the rest scattered, closed her door, and leaned against it wearily.

"Get out of my blood, Darien. I need to get over you. If I can help it, I'll never see you again, so let me move on." With that, she plucked Ben's card from the foliage and opened it.

'_Congratulations on the promotion Serena. Let me take you out to celebrate tonight. Sticks at seven? Please say you'll go. – Ben_

She grimaced, not at Ben's card, but at herself for not letting him into her heart before. "I'm going on this date," she told herself, "and I won't think about him at all."


	5. The Attacks

Soul Searching Ch. 5

A month and several dates later

It was nearing two when assignments started flooding in for editing. She had gotten through all but the last one when Ben walked in with his.

"So," he asked, "Dinner?"

"I'd love to," she told him, then went to work on his story while he wandered around the room, investigating.

"I just love this wallpaper, I really should get the name of your decorator," he joked.

"Mmm," she replied, chewing on the end of her pen as she read, too focused to really pay attention. After a few minutes, he began a conversation again.

"Have you heard what's happening in Tokyo? Thousands of attacks, they have no idea what from, but the people are basically dropping like flies."

"What?" Serena's head popped up, her gaze locked on Ben.

"Yeah, haven't you been watching the news, it's all over."

"No – I hadn't even turned the T.V. on, I was at Kate's last night…" she trailed off as she fumbled with the remote that turned on the news-only, one channel television in her office.

"…tacks in Japan…affecting mostly Tokyo…many missing…hundreds wounded…" Serena only heard snippets of the report as she sunk slowly to the floor.

"Serena!" Ben shouted as he grabbed for her.

"I've got to go back – _No! They don't want me there_ – But I need to know – _They are better off without me_ – They might need help…" She was at war with herself. Ben sat helpless to aid her. Just then, a petite figure in blue appeared on the screen;

"This is a message for Sailor Moon – wherever you are. We need your help – It's not what they think it is. It's never been this bad before. Please come…" Then Mercury was gone and the reporter was back.

"She is one of the mysterious masked females, of which there are five I believe, running around the city, accompanied by a masked male in a cape-suit claiming to be trying to save the city from enemy forces. Have they snapped from the shock, or is the city in more trouble than we thought it was, right now, scientists and doctors are saying it is the breakout of a new virus. Update after these messages. This is Dan Shelley from U.K. 24, live in Tokyo, Japan. Stay tuned."

Serena was immobile on the floor, her eyes transfixed on the screen, Ben kneeling by her side.

"Serena," he prodded. She jolted back to reality and looked at him.

"I'm sorry Ben, but I'm not going to be able to make dinner…"

"Wha…" He tried to interrupt, but Serena would have none of it.

"I don't know if you knew this, but I was born and raised there, and it's where my entire family is. I've got to go back. I'm sorry Ben," she said as she started to shake.

"Do you want me to go with you?" He asked.

"Would you?" She looked at him with pleading eyes, full of hope and distrust. He sensed that he wasn't getting the full story, but he let it slide.

"Of course. Now let's go tell Teddy."


	6. The Flight

Disclaimer: Don't own SM or anything remotely related except for Ben, Chelsea, Meg and Kate, and any other characters I happen to throw into this piece. Thanks for reading!

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Grow Up Ch. 6

"You never gave us the details on your family, Rina." Chelsea reminded her as they all stepped onto the plane's walkway. The girls, upon hearing the news, insisted on accompanying the couple to the home of Serena's past.

"Well, I've told you about my mom and dad, but I also have a teenage brother named Sammy. Oh – and my…um…my cousin Rini might also be there." She explained, distractedly, pausing slightly at having to make an excuse for Rini's existence.

The group then moved to their respective seats on the plane; Ben and Serena with the window seat with Ben by the aisle, and Chelsea, Kate and Meg in the middle set of seats.

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It was a rough flight. They had to constantly keep their seat belts fastened due to the turbulence. Serena slept most of the way, but was plagued with dreams and old memories, mostly about Darien.

Ben turned to look at Serena's sleeping form. Occasionally, her head would thrash back and forth in a violent shake, and she would mutter a name, which up to this point, had been incoherent. He glanced at her as she spoke once more, this time being able to decipher the name; Darien. He had tried to shake her out of her obvious nightmare, but to no avail. It was as if her body had locked her inside of her bad dream.

As if out of nowhere, there was a man at Ben's side. It was dim and hard to see, but Ben quickly got a sense that the man was no good.

"Curious?" The man asked Ben cryptically.

"What?" Ben asked, surprised.

"You want to learn her deepest secrets? Here…" The stranger then put his hand on Ben's shoulder and he felt himself slipping away into unconsciousness, until he too was asleep. His head resting lightly on top of Serena's.

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Sorry this was so short, but the next chap. is really long. I hope you like it, the next chapter might be a bit confusing, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless, I enjoyed writing it!


	7. Memories part one

I don't own or claim any rights to Sailor Moon. I am just a fan, writing for my enjoyment and to relieve stress from my life. Please don't press charges.

This chapter is from Serena's dream. The first memory is the ending from the SM movie 'Promise of the Rose,' just to clarify

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Grow Up Ch.7

It was a place like no other Ben had experienced before, and he had been all over the world. Here it was dark and destitute, and when he looked around he saw what he had come to believe outer-space looked like. He saw what looked like Serena and seven other people. One he recognized as the girl on the TV.

Ben found that he couldn't move, but watched in fascination. Serena was wearing a beautiful white dress and was locked in a conversation with a man with long bluish green hair.

"I can make you better," he heard Serena say to the man. "Love and friendship brought you here, and it will heal you. Let it." The man said something back to her, then in a blast of white light, he was gone.

He sensed a change in the atmosphere, as if something tarnished had become pure and watched as Serena held a crystal out in front of her. He could feel the force that Serena was battling in bringing the asteroid to a halt, if she didn't, he knew that they, along with many people on Earth would be lost.

He watched as a handsome man stood up to help Serena with obvious confidence, respect and adoration.

He saw the love in her surprised eyes as she noticed the man's presence.

He observed the four girls behind the couple struggle to rise and add their energy and encouragement.

He heard to pleas to Serena to save her strength, and not use up all the crystal's power to save them. But watched in horror as the rock slowed to a stop, the crystal broke, and Serena fell backwards into the man's strong, protective arms. He knew in a moment that she was gone.

He didn't know what to feel, but watched as everyone grieved over her body. He heard a voice speaking as though far away, and realized it was speaking to the man.

"Darien," _so this was the man Serena was calling to in her dream_, he realized, "Darien, this is the Life-Flower. Give it's nectar to Sailor Moon." Then the voice faded away, and Darien softly kissed Serena's lips.

'_Sailor Moon?_' Ben thought to himself, then quickly made connections. He had recognized the girl in the blue suit, and she had said she had a message for Sailor Moon. The voice had made this Sailor Moon and Serena sound as if they were one in the same. '_What in the hell is going on_?' He wondered as he continued to study the unfolding events.

As 'Darien' kissed Serena, her eyes opened and she smiled.

"Thank you," she said to him, and pulled him down to her for another kiss.

'_What in the hell?_' Ben screamed inside his head. '_What is going on?_'

The other girls crowded around the couple to exclaim their joy that Serena was alive. As they waited for their strength to return he could hear Serena and 'Darien' talking quietly.

"God, Serena, I thought I'd lost you. I don't know what I would do if I did." He held her tightly as he spoke.

"You could never lose me, Darien. I love you, and I always will. Remember that. No matter what happens, what I or anyone else says or does, I love you," she told him adamantly.

"I know, love. I love you more than my life, when I thought Fiore…god, when he tried to kill you…" He nearly broke down, "Serena, I love you so much, I just want you to know."

"Don't worry. I do." She said, as the memory began to fade, "I do."

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Somehow he knew that the new memory was the same one as before, just earlier. He saw the same man as before, this time threatening Serena, who was dressed in the same kind of outfit as the four other girls. 'Darien' was nowhere to be seen. Just as Ben thought it was the end for Serena, a rose shot from out of nowhere and distracted the man.

"Fiore," he heard called from a rooftop. "Stop! Sailor Moon is not your enemy. '_There's that name again,_' Ben thought, as he watched 'Darien' jump down from the building and stand between Serena and 'Fiore'.

After a few brief words between the two men, Darien was thrust aside, and 'Fiore' dodged for Serena. He shot something at her but was resisted by Darien, who fought with him using a sword. After a short battle, Fiore saw an opening, and before Ben knew it, he was again shooting at Serena. This time there was someone in the way. Serena, Fiore and Ben all saw Darien drop to the ground. Serena let out a scream, as did Fiore.

"Darien, how could you protect her? I can't believe I hurt you, and it was all _your_ fault!" Fiore yelled at Serena, who was bawling over Darien's limp form.

"Oh my love, how could I let this happen? Darien, please be okay! I can't lose you, I just can't…" she cried to him. Before she could utter another sound, Darien had been transported into Fiore's arms and was being lifted into the air.

"No! Don't! You can't take him, you can't have him! I won't let you!" Serena screamed at the retreating figure of Fiore.

"He is my only friend, Sailor Moon. He is mine, not yours, and I alone will heal him. So long, you'll never see him again," he said, as he disappeared with her love.

The memory faded slowly then, and Ben was left in complete darkness.


	8. Memories part two

Disclaimer: Don't own any of it.

Thank you for all your input! I really appreciate it!

Okay, This is the second part of Serena's memories. Enjoy

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Grow Up Ch.8

The next thing Ben saw was a fight. Out of nowhere, Serena appeared in her 'costume,' aimed a boomerang type object and threw it. But the weapon didn't hit its desired target. Realizing it was a miss, the monster quickly and efficiently dodged the missile, and attacked the girl in blue. The girl went down as a girl with long black hair and a red outfit shot something at the monster and killed it. Everyone ran over to the girl in blue.

"Mercury!" He heard yelled. He looked to Serena. She seemed in shock, not even noticing that the other girl was hurt.

The girl in red turned to Serena,

"This time, you've gone too far," she yelled.

"What were you doing? What were you thinking?" the girl in orange screamed, while the girl in green who was bent next to 'Mercury' glared at her.

Serena must have snapped out of her shock. When she saw what had happened, she ran over to her friend only to be blocked by the others.

"You'll only make it worse," He heard the girl in red hiss at Serena. "Ami would never have gotten hurt if it wasn't for you! You missed! You fricking missed with your stupid tiara. You are worthless. We'd be so much better off without you!"

Serena stood stock-still for a few moments, then simply said, "fine," turned around, and started walking in the opposite direction.

"Good. Go. Just don't come back." The girl yelled to Serena's back as she walked away.

The next thing Ben knew, there were the grey outlines of seats in front of him, and a woman pushing a cart was slowly making her way towards him. It took him several seconds to realize that he was awake and in the plane on his way to Tokyo, with Serena still sleeping by his side.

'_What the hell was that?_' He wondered. '_Could that guy have really had something to do with the images, or did I dream up him and Serena's 'memories'?_'

Just then, Serena stirred next to him. She looked distressed, he noted.

"Morning sleepyhead," he said, trying to lighten her mood.

"Mmm," was all she said in reply, then turned to look out the window at the incoming lights of Japan.

"You have good dreams?" Ben asked, trying to pump information as discreetly as possible.

"Memories of my old life, mostly." She replied, still not really looking at him. Ben ended the conversation then, letting Serena dwell on the meaning of her dreams.


	9. Explanations

Totally don't own any of this.

I have had the ideas for the next few parts circulating in my head for days, but this has been my first chance to put them on paper. Thanks for being patient.

Grow Up Ch. 9

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Serena took a deep breath as she stepped off the plane and onto the island that was Japan. She had missed this place – not near as much as rain, she thought with a laugh, although she really did like London. She felt a hand at her shoulder and turned. Behind her were her three friends and Ben, who was currently using her as an arm-rest.

"Nice place," he said, jokingly, trying to break Serena out of her melancholy.

"Come on," Serena said with a laugh as she hailed a large cab. Within no time the five were paying the cab driver and exiting onto the street of Serena's childhood.

"It hasn't changed much." Serena said, distractedly. She hesitated while attempting to cross the line of the sidewalk. '_What if they hate me? What if they don't want to see me? What if they moved so I couldn't find them?_' Questions flooded through her brain a mile a minute.

As if sensing her foreboding, Chelsea piped up, "Well, let's go meet this family of yours, Rina."

Serena knocked on the front door, and after what felt like an hour, a teenage boy opened the door.

"Sammy?" Serena asked, startled.

"Serena!" The boy stated, clearly shocked. "Where the hell have you been?"

They all went into the house and after making a quick meal for the famished travelers, Sammy told them that their mother and father were with their grandmother, who lived several hours away. The siblings went into a different room, where Serena quickly explained to Sammy what had happened over the past two years. Chelsea, Ben, Meg and Kate all pretended to be busy eating, but were really straining to listen in on the hushed conversation.

"…couldn't take it anymore…left a note…London…grew up…didn't need me…new friends…" But the four couldn't decipher it. When the siblings emerged from the living room, the group quickly went back to eating.

After about an hour, the five decided to find a hotel to stay in, and emerged from the house, promising Sammy to visit again soon, he rather liked Meg. They were walking down the front walk when they heard a scream from farther down the block.

"Get back in the house." Serena yelled to her friends. She followed them into the house, and then explained. "I have something…rather important to tell you. But I can't to it now. I need you to stay in the house while I take care of that…problem…outside. I promise I will tell you all about it in a minute, but just promise me you will stay inside. You can watch from the window, but you probably won't believe what is happening. I'll be right back." She told them, cryptically.

She strode from the house, and the four flew to the front window. They saw Serena hold up a locket of some kind, yell something unintelligible, and suddenly transform.

'What the hell? This is like my dream, only, Serena's outfit is different. What is going on?' Ben wondered, shocked.

Serena walked down the sidewalk, and the monster that was about to kill a girl on the street, saw her. It immediately dropped the girl, and flew towards Serena. She aimed a scepter at the 'thing,' yelled something, and within moments, the creature was no more. Serena ran over to the monster's victim, and helped the girl to her feet. The girl thanked her, and ran off in the direction of home.

Serena then walked purposefully back to her house, and opened the door only to be bombarded with questions.

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"So you are a Moon Princess? But you were killed and sent to Earth to protect it as…Sailor Moon?" Chelsea asked, trying to sort out all the details.

"Basically. My guardians were sent along – the sailor scouts, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus, to help me, along with the Prince of Earth, Prince Darien, who is Tuxedo Mask." She told them again.

"Serena, I saw you in my dream like that." Ben confessed. "For some reason, I was dreaming what you were remembering on the plane."

Serena's face blanched. "You mean you saw everything?" She asked him. The main things she had left out had been her relationship with Darien, and Rini, who were both in her previous dreams.

"You were wearing a different outfit though. You were fighting with the sailor scouts, and then left…it was pretty confusing." He tried to explain. He decided not to mention the first dream, not really knowing why.

"That was the last time I saw them." Serena said, seemingly looking back into the past. "I have no idea what they are going to say when they see me." She said, honestly.

"But…was it Sailor…Mercury…that asked for your help on T.V? They obviously want your help if they asked for it." He reasoned.

"Ami was always the sensible one. She knew what she was doing, so everyone went along with it, whether they agreed with it or not…" Serena trailed off, smiling slightly. "But I don't know why I changed in my transformation. I noticed that too. But the crystal acted differently too. I have different attacks and weapons as well. Maybe it's because I've grown up. Ami or Luna will know," she said.

"Luna?" Kate asked.

"My cat," Serena said simply, but seeing the look on her friends faces, laughed and clarified, "She is my guardian. She talks." They just shook their heads, and laughed.

"Next you are going to tell me that vampires exist." Meg said, giggling.

"As far as I know, only in Buffy," Serena chuckled. "But I suggest we get going. I am going to transform, because it is safer that way," Serena explained. "Let's go."


	10. Revelations

For the umpteenth time…I have no rights to this, I do it for my own sick enjoyment. Hope you like it! Sorry this is so short.

Grow Up Ch. 10

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They hadn't walked for more than a few blocks when they heard more screams. Serena noted that they were only a little ways from Rae's Temple, and wondered if it was the same, or if it was in pieces, like most of Tokyo.

"Stay back," Serena warned the others, then ran to find the source of the screams. She saw a group of monsters surrounding the scouts, who were obviously outnumbered. As she surveyed the fight she saw Tuxedo Mask, and her breath caught in her throat. What would he think of her? Just then she saw Rini. She was a Scout! Obviously a lot had changed. As she contemplated this, a monster ran straight for Rini's uncovered back with an axe.

Just as Ben, Chelsea, Kate and Meg caught up with her, Serena charged.

"Stay away from her," she yelled, getting the 'thing's' attention. Rini, also hearing the voice, stopped short, as did everyone else in the vicinity. The scouts quickly recovered to finish off their enemy, then turned and stared, their mouths simultaneously hanging open.

"Mama?" Rini whispered, questionably.

As the monster charged with its axe, Serena pulled out a long sword from off her back, and rose to meet the 'being' in mid-air.

"Oh, look who finally came back." The creature taunted. "And look whose going to die for my master. Hahah…" His laugh was cut off by Serena's blade which had pierced his heart.

"So much for your predictions," she mumbled to the dissolving shell.

"MAMA!" Serena heard yelled, and turned as she saw Rini running towards her, and throwing herself in Serena's arms.

"Mama, I missed you." She cried from Serena's middle.

"I know, Darling. I missed you too." Serena crooned to her daughter.

'_Daughter? Serena has a daughter?_' Ben was shocked. He literally couldn't move. He was hit with jealousy, '_what role did Darien have in this?_' He wondered. '_She seemed so innocent though,_' he thought to himself. '_What didn't she tell us?_'


	11. Shocks

Don't own anything! Well, except Jonathan, Alex, Ben, Chelsea, Kate, and Meg. Oh, and sorry about the delay in writing back – stupid writer's block – where's my muse when I need her?

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Grow Up Ch.11

Serena turned a worried face to her friends, standing towards the outside of the group. "I'll explain later," she mouthed to them, then knelt down to hug Rini more thoroughly. A moment later, she sensed something.

"Chels…" she said calmly, pushing Rini away slightly. Serena seemed to be concentrating on something, "Duck." She said at exactly the right time. She took off at a run, and did a spin over the four, landing a few feet past them, clashing swords at the same time with a rather large monster behind them.

After a moment, Serena had taken care of the monster, only to see a child come running around a corner.

"Help! Help!" He cried, "Something is chasing me!"

"Don't worry," Serena said, grabbing his hand. "You stay here, and I'll take care of it."

"Wait," he said, "you don't know where it is. I'll show you." Then he started leading her away from the group. But the boy looked slightly familiar to Serena, just as she put together the fact that a scared little boy most likely wouldn't want to run right back into the face of danger, the boy changed. One could almost say he grew up. At once Serena recognized him.

"Alex?" She gasped.

"That's right, sweet." He answered with an unfamiliar gleam in his eyes.

"I thought…I thought you and Jon were dead!" She said, her eyes watering slightly.

"Waterworks, Sere? I didn't think it of you. You were always so regal, graceful, and composed." He sneered.

"What? Alex, what is wrong with you? Where have you been? Where's Jon?" She asked, as the group looked on, as equally confused as she was.

"Oh, he's under lock and key. Don't want him falling into the wrong hands." He said, with the same sneer on his face. Serena felt his hand tighten on her wrist, and began to back up, but he wouldn't let go.

"Alex…" She said, warningly.

"He's the same place you will be, Sere. But don't worry, I'll treat you better. After all, you will be my _wife_."

"WHAT?" Serena as well as everyone else gasped. Without warning, Alex flew backwards with Serena in front of him, and within moments, had her against a wall.

"You had better stay back," he said to the scouts, and the rest, "I've got the advantage." He then turned to Serena. "It's easy to explain. I've always wanted you, and I also want to rule the Moon. It's a win-win opportunity for me." He then bent his head, and forced his mouth onto hers. She struggled, but to no avail.

"Serena!" Darien and Ben yelled. She suddenly changed, blinding everyone with a white light. When the light faded they saw Serena as Serenity, still held by Alex however.

"That's right, Sere. Change for me." He said wickedly.

"Alex, what happened to you?" She asked.

"I realized what I wanted, and you and Jon stood in my way, oh but don't worry, I didn't hurt your precious Jon, not yet anyway," he taunted. "In any case, I began to train with Prince Diamond," At that, the sailors gasped, Serena however, was unfazed. "But then you and the sissy scouts killed him, which really saved me from having to do the job, my thanks." He said, bowing slightly in the direction of the scouts. "Then, when I was strong enough, I found Jon, who was in Austria of all places, used my wiles to get him back to the moon, where I locked him up, and decided to come get you, my dear."

"You forget one thing." She said almost calmly. "No one can force me to do anything." With that, she threw her hand to the side, then up, and immediately was Sailor Moon, no transformation necessary. But just as suddenly, they were gone.

"What the..." Lita started,

"Wait, look up!" Rini said, pointing. As they all looked up, they saw the two, locked in battle, neither one having the edge at the moment. "Be careful mama." Rini said, holding on to Darien's hand.

Just then, Alex saw an opening, and struck Serena, who plummeted to the earth.

"Serena!" Darien screamed, running to stop her fall. But he was shot back by an invisible force.

"I don't think so, pretty boy." Alex taunted from up above. They saw Serena hit the ground and lie still. Alex slowly lowered himself to the ground. Serena opened her eyes and groaned, then she outstretched one hand, and her forgotten sword flew into it, and she jumped to her feet.

"Just try, Alex. You won't win." She goaded, feigning a strength she obviously didn't feel.

"Oh, believe me, Sere. I will." With that, he was gone, and Serena fell to her knees once more.

The scouts rushed to Serena's side. "Are you okay?" was the collective question asked by the group. Serena slowly pulled herself to her feet, brushing off the offered hands and faced the group. She still looked a million miles away, they all thought silently.

"I will explain what just happened," Serena said, wearily, jumping right to what needed to be taken care of, "But it can't be here, we might be overheard," she said, almost monotone.

Rae looked around skeptically,_ 'Right – overheard in this barren wasteland. Ha! But whatever her highness thinks._' She thought to herself. "Let's go to the Temple, then." She said out loud. She led to crowd as the other scouts fell in behind her, with Serena, Rini and a slightly ostracized Darien, followed by Ben, Chelsea, Kate and Meg.

"What the heck is going on?" Meg asked Kate in a whisper.

"We'll know soon enough," Kate replied.

"What I want to know," Ben said, annoyed, "is what this _Darien_ has to do with Serena, and who Rini really is. She said Rini was her _cousin_, but I know my cousins don't call me dad."

"She said she'd explain later," Chelsea reminded him patiently. "Have some faith, will you."

"Still –" just then, in front of them, Serena grabbed her head and wobbled a bit.

"Mama?" Rini asked, alarmed. Darien and Ben were instantly at her side.

"It's nothing, I'm okay, guys." She reassured them. They didn't quite believe her, but backed off a tad, gave each other glares of hatred and watched Serena carefully.

Just as they suspected, after a minute or so, Serena grimaced, and put a hand to her head again. Darien, had a bit of an edge, and got to her first.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Darien, please. I told you. I'm fine; it's just a momentary discomfort. I'm really all right." He shot her another look of disbelief and took his place closer to her side, smirking at Ben, who had been excluded from the exchange.

The next time it happened, it seemed to affect her more than the times before. She literally stumbled, and fell to her knees. The boys were at her side in an instant.

"Serena," Darien begged, "what's wrong." Ben just took a hold of her free hand and gave a comforting squeeze. Serena gave Ben a look of thanks, then struggled to her feet for what felt like the twentieth time that day.

"I just feel so weak. It feels as though someone is draining my strength from me. It's almost as if I can hear J…never mind…I probably just need to sleep. I'll be okay, I promise." She gave them both a look of appreciation, and starting walking again.

Suddenly, a man solidified in front of Serena, wordlessly commanding her to stop. The man reached out to her and instantaneously Darien was pulling his future wife and daughter behind him.

But Serena stopped him. "Wait Darien." She slowly, and almost in a trance made her way back to stand in front of the man. They could see her lip tremble, and her eyes start to water as she reached towards the figure as he in turn reached out to her. Just as their fingertips were about to touch, they heard a whisper.

"Jon?" She asked, breathlessly. They heard him reply with a nearly silent 'yes' and saw a tear almost identical to Serena's trickle down his cheek. Their fingers should have touched, but instead Serena's went right through his, and her mouth fell open.

"But…but…Alex said you were alright." Her hand flew to her mouth, and the tears started to flow faster.

"Sere…Sere…Alex didn't lie," the man explained to a more hopeful looking Serena, "I learned to convey my spirit, but haven't mastered the body transportation part yet, which is how I am here. But I had to take some of your energy, I hope that's okay." When Serena didn't reply, he got worried. "Sere…say something." He pleaded.

"I missed you so much!" She cried, as shudders raked her body. He knelt to be next to her.

"I know. I missed you too. I looked for you before Alex found me, but I couldn't locate your signal."

"I was here, and then in London. Alex said you were in Austria?"

"Yeah, mom decided it was the most like the Moon Kingdom. I thought you would be there with me, and then…I had no idea where you were. God, I was so worried about you, Serena." He explained, the tears starting to pool in his eyes at the memories. "But I've got to go soon. Alex will discover that it's just my body left there, and he'll come after us with twice the force. What I really came here to tell you, is I am alright for now. He is hiding out on the Moon, in the main castle. And he's got me locked up in our old playroom of all places."

"Well, he always was the creative one," Serena joked obviously cheering up a bit.

"But don't worry about me, please. I can take care of Alex, I just need time. I'm getting stronger every day. Soon I can escape, and hopefully help him become the guy we all remember him to be. This is what I came here to tell you, Sere. I love you, so stay safe, and don't…listen to me...Serena. I'm older and oh-so-much wiser than you, so listen up – don't go looking for trouble. Now that I've found you, I'm taking care that you stay with me for a long while. Stay out of trouble will you. I've got to go, but take care, be alert, and watch your back. I will see you soon. I love you, Sere." He said, as he faded away.

"I love you to Jon…" She cried out, hoping he heard her, although she knew he knew it.

"What the HELL is going on here?" Rae yelled. "Nothing has been even remotely normal since you came back. So please kindly explain A. what you are doing here, B. who Alex is, C. who Jon is, and D. What the hell that was all about."

Serena glared at Rae, then turned to the group. "Fine, but let's please get out of the street." She motioned for them all to go into the park a few feet to their right.

When the group was all safely under cover, Serena began her tale.


	12. Secrets Revealed

None of this is mine. Enjoy the chappie. I'm so so so so so so sorry this has taken two months to post. My life has been crazy. Between golf practice, rehearsal for the musical, working out, scholarships and school work I haven't had time to breathe let alone write. But I will try to get stuff done soon. Thanks for the reviews, they are appreciated!

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Ch. 12

"The man you just saw is my brother." Serena explained to her shocked friends

"But you don't have a brother – well, except for Sammy," Mina sputtered.

"Jonathan was the first born, and is five years older than me. He and I were supposed to rule together, but then I met Darien, which created a few problems. I was in love with Darien and was willing to forfeit my throne to be with him. Jon didn't really like it, but was eventually okay with it as long as he deemed Darien a good man, which he did. But mother was strongly opposed to it, and about that time, Jon was sent to learn on Earth, and I was completely alone, Darien never able to sneak away or visit. But then Jon's best friend, Alex came back from traveling and kept me company. He became quite a close friend of mine in that time, and when Jon eventually came back, we became the Three Musketeers. However, when the attack came, I wasn't with them, and I hadn't seen or heard from them until now. What is hard to believe is Alex." Serena said, shaking her head. "He isn't like this. I know he's not. I just need to find out what happened to him, and I have a feeling all of this activity will disappear."

"What do you propose to do?" Ami asked her, analyzing the situation.

"Well, there is no way I'm letting Jon face this by himself." She said, holding back tears and shaking her head furiously. "I won't, I can't. I lost him once. I won't let it happen again. I am going to stop Alex. I'm going to the old moon kingdom, and am going to confront him head on."

"Serena, you're not going to face him alone." Darien said, "We are going with you."

"No, you're not. I won't let you get hurt for nothing." She began to argue, but was interrupted by Rae's sudden furious flame.

"So it's really your fault we've suffered so much. God, Serena, you really are a bitch. You leave us with a barely understandable letter, are gone for two years, then expect us to accept you after all that. I don't think so. You left us, you have no say in what we do, and are no longer a part of our group. I'm tired of everyone saying we need you back, because the truth is, we don't. I mean, you are the one who brought this trouble here in the first place." Rae shook her head with a vengeance.

"No Rae, you're wrong. You told me to leave. You and the scouts. You may not remember, but it's emblazoned into my memory. What's ironic; it really wasn't anything I could have helped in the first place. And who are you to tell me that you don't need me. Ami said on international television that you all wanted me to help. So I came. Despite the fact that I knew we would fight and hold grudges I couldn't let anything happen to you. Yes, I did leave, but not without being told to first. You expected me to fail. You above all thought I was a brainless, clumsy scarecrow of a blond, and you expressed your opinion that you would have made a better leader than I would. So I gave you that power Rae, you should be happy. But you're not. Ironic, huh?" Serena was fuming; she had obviously regained her strength and was standing nearly nose to nose with Rae. "I know you don't like me, Rae, and you never will. But I am here to help. I won't get in the way of you and Darien's relationship, and will leave as soon as this is over, as not to be in your way. In fact, I will go right now to deal with Alex, if you will make sure nothing happens here. That way I will be out of your hair as soon as possible."

"Will somebody please explain what the _fuck_ is going on between the two of them?" Ben suddenly blurted out. "Why do they hate either other, and what do you have to do with it?" Ben asked, suddenly turning his attention on Darien, then looked to Serena "And who, pray tell, is Rini, she's definitely not your cousin, as you told us. We want the truth."

"You want the truth, Ben?" Serena spat. "Darien and I were in love. In the future, Darien and I were married, and had Rini. We sent her to the past to be with us to have a normal childhood, but originally because I was under a deep spell, and she had to convince Darien and I that we should be together, not knowing that I was her mother, it's a long complicated story. Anyway, Rae developed, well, actually she had them all along, she liked Darien too, and didn't think I was worthy of him. She was also jealous of my leadership position. When I made a mistake, I never heard the end of it, which is what you heard, I guess, when you witnessed my memory on the plane. The final snap. Happy now?" She asked, cocking her head to one side and looking at him expectantly. Ben just looked at her, glassy-eyed, his mouth hanging slightly open.

"Serena… " Darien tried to say.

"Don't start, Darien. It was a mistake to come back, but I'm going to fix it. Chels, Meg, Kate. I think you should stay with Sammy at my old house. I don't know how long I will be gone. Ben, you have to go with them." She walked over to her three best friends and hugged them each individually. "You gave me the strength to come back here and face my past. Regardless of the outcome, I thank you. You are my best friends." She turned away and tears began to slip down her friends cheeks. "Oh, Chels, if something happens, you can have my new office and my promotion. Tell Teddy I said so. Kate, you get my flat, that way you'll be right next to the pub, go get your laddies," she joked, mimicking perfectly Kate's brogue. "Meg, my hot clubbing clothes. Nobody has a better body than you." Her joking brought smiles to her friends faces, although nothing could stop the anguish in the moment. "Take care of Ben, okay. I think he's still in shock." He glared at her slightly, then shrugged. "Don't fight me on this. Go now, and I will send something to protect your journey." She mumbled something while closing her eyes and a shield of yellow and pink surrounded them. "Hurry," she said, then watched as they dashed for her home.

She turned to the sailor scouts. Her eyes widened as she saw a familiar black form scamper up to the group. "Luna?" She cried, dropping to her knees for the umpteenth time that day.

"Serena? Is it really…no…it…Serena!" Luna threw herself at her long lost companion.

"Oh Luna, I've missed you. But I've got to go again. The enemy…it's Alex." She said quietly, forgetting the group surrounding her, her eyes filling with tears, threatening to spill from her already swollen eyes. "He's got Jon, I just…I don't…I don't know what to do." She let all of her anguish from the proceeding week spill from her and she held onto Luna.

"Not Alex…" Luna cried, shocked. "He was a miscreant, but a sweetheart nonetheless.

Between sobs Serena managed to nod. "I wouldn't have believed it unless…he was so angry, Luna. I don't know what happened to do this to him, but it must have been horrible."

"How's Jon?" Luna asked, worried.

"He says he's alright, but…" She faded…chewing on her lower lip.

"When did you talk to him?" Luna asked, surprised.

"He just appeared before me," She tried to explain, "He said something about soul transferring I think…I don't know…"

"Wait a second," Mina said, finally catching up with the direction of the conversation, "Luna, you knew about Jon and Alex and never said anything?"

"I knew Jon and Alex on the Moon. Serena and I were the only ones allowed to remember, as a concern for Jon's safety." Luna explained.

"Right…" Rae said sarcastically, "Of course. That makes _perfect_ sense. We're definitely not trustworthy." Then she walked off.

"Rae," Mina started running after her leaving Lita, Ami, Serena, Rini, Luna and Darien to talk.

"I'm leaving. I don't know when I'll be back." Serena said, sounding exhausted and drained. "Please don't try and follow me," she said. She began to complete the transformation, but was stopped by Luna's pleading.

"You need someone to go with you. You can't do this on your own." That seemed to incense Serena more.

"I have been told that ten times a day since I've been a part of the sailor scouts. I'm sick of it. I'm doing this on my own. I love you Rini, Luna, Ami, Lita. Darien, despite everything, I love you too. I'm sorry." With that, she threw her hands up, shouted a command in a language only Luna could understand, and was instantly gone from view.

After a moment, Luna turned to Darien, "Are you going after her, or not?"


	13. Divying up the Team

Oh my gosh – I am so so so sorry that it has taken me a year to respond. It's my first year in college, and it's been really stressful. I'm going to try and write more now that I'm nearly finished. Thanks for your patience! 3 Lizzy

The first thing Serena felt was a sense of being home, but then a rush of cold and a strange feeling of wrongness evaded her senses. She had arrived in her mother's old rose garden, and quickly looked around to see if she had been spotted. She noticed many new buildings; rough barracks by the looks of them. She quickly ducked behind a large bench, and decided her course of action. "How am I going to get into the castle?" She wondered. Working quickly to try and figure something out, she suddenly recalled a secret passage that she had in the past used to use to sneak down to see Darien when he made his trips to the Moon. "All I have to do is make my way to that door. Hopefully Alex never discovered it." With that she poked up her head and scouted for the best route to the Palace.

Meanwhile;

"Of course I'm going after her!" Darien replied to Luna. "She's going to need help."

"Darien, I want to go with you!" Rini said, trying to look as mature as possible, on the off chance that that would make him more acceptable to the idea.

"NO WAY!" Darien and Luna yelled at the exact same moment.

"But I'm a scout now, and I'm not a little girl. I want to help save Serena. She saved my life today, and I want to help out," she argued.

"You can help, but what I want you to do is keep Serena's friends safe. Go and protect them and Sammy. That would be a major job, and it would make Serena feel much better if she knew they were under your expert care!" Luna persuaded.

"But…"

"Listen to Luna, Rini." Darien added, "Serena will really appreciate it."

"Alright," said Rini with quite a lack of spirit.

Darien, looked at Lita and Ami. "You gals feel up to helping me?"

"Do you think that's such a good idea?" Ami asked, "Who is going to watch out for Tokyo?"

"Mina and Rae can stay here and take care of things here, along with Rini." Luna said, not forgetting to include the littlest scout in the list.

"Well then, let's go raise hell on the Moon!" Lita yelled, as she threw punches into the air.

"Rini and I will head to Serena's house, and tell them what is going on, and then I'll go find Rae and Mina," said Luna. "Are you ready to go?" At their nod, she said, "Then gather in a circle, and clasp hands." She then shouted an unintelligible phrase and the three disappeared from sight.

"I hope this works," Rini muttered as she accompanied Luna down the street.


	14. On the Moon

Wow. So so so so sorry. College is crazy – did NO fun writing for several years. I will try very hard to be better. Here I come with more attempts to entertain.

...

Chapter 14 – On the Moon

Serena carefully made her way to the secret passage, not spotting much security, to her immense surprise. She couldn't recall if Alex knew about the tunnel, but decided to risk it anyway. She tried the door, "Security field. Of course." As she sat there, hiding behind a hedge, she tried to figure out how to disable the shield. "Just disappear," she said under her breath, "just let down your guard for me to find Jon." She started when she heard a light buzzing appear out of nowhere, but then to her utter amazement, it grew louder and the force field made a brief pop, glowed bright blue, and then disappeared. Startled, Serena looked around and then scrambled to try the door. It was open!

...

Darien, Ami and Lita felt like they were being tossed around in a wild storm on the sea. They held on tightly to each other's hands and tried to keep silent lest it give them away when they got to their destination. With a light whrrr they landed gently in a dark forest. They immediately went on the alert, and scanned the area surrounding them for enemies. When they felt that they were safe, they crouched together and began to hatch a plan.

...

Rini and Luna arrived at Serena's house to find the girls trying to snap Ben out of whatever he was in. Although seeing Rini proved to do the trick.

"Ok…" Ben closed his eyes and sighed deeply. "What. In the hell. Is. Going. On?"

Rini could tell already that she didn't like this guy, and to be honest, Chelsea, Meg and Kate were beginning to become a tad irritated with him as well.

"Look Ben, I'm sorry, but this is pretty crazy, but we're talking about Serena here. We always knew there was something huge she wasn't telling us. Something she was running from. But she is still Serena." Chelsea said.

"Yes, the monsters and magic if that's what it is, and ghosts and…children…are shocking and scary and crazy but when you think about it, it kinda makes sense," Meg added.

Ben glared at the two of them, and then turned to the small black cat. "Alright…would you mind…um…Luna...telling us what is going on. Starting at the beginning. Please?"

...

As Serena cautiously followed the passage, she wondered, 'Did I open that shield? That doesn't make any sense, I didn't _do_ anything.' But all day, weird things had been happening. She had transformed differently, was able to do so without going through the process, had new weapons, and even the crystal felt changed. 'Do I have the power to make things happen by thinking them?' That might explain the way she transformed when Alex was holding her, because her intent had been to bluff him and feign then escape. She had been wishing she was still in uniform, but hadn't actively intended to. 'This is something to contemplate' she thought, and she stealthily snuck down the tunnel as it wove its way around the castle.

...

"I think we should stick together, keep low and scope the area as we go. Spot and stop any enemies we see," Jupiter said.

"Alright," Mercury agreed, and the three crept to the edge of the forest.

"I remember where we are," Darien said. "We can see the grounds from that hill," he motioned off to their right, "from there we will know what we are up against."

They reached the hill just about the same time Serena was closing the door of the secret passage into the castle. They saw maybe a handful of guards, and from their spot, saw an accessible path to the castle that would take them between the guards, making a fight unlikely. They stealthily worked their way across the expanse to the north wall.

"Now what?" Lita asked.

"Things are coming back to me…I remember a door…I used to meet Serena there. Alex might not know about it. We could try that," Darien replied.

"Better than my idea," said Lita. "Let's go."

They made their way along the wall of the castle, until Darien recognized where they were. "This is it," he whispered, and then tried the door. It opened without must hesitation. "Perfect," he said, grinning, and the three slipped into the castle.


	15. Inside the Castle

Like I said, I'm going to try and just crank them out – so here is more, for your reading pleasure.

…

Chapter 15 – Inside the Castle

Serena remembered that the passage opened up into the hallway between what had been her parent's quarters and the nursery. She stopped as she reached the end of the tunnel. She closed her eyes and sent out a prayer that nobody was in the hallway. Then she set her ear to the door. Silence. She waited a bit longer, and then cautiously opened the door. She had her sword in hand, expecting to come face to face with a foe. Instead, she found the corridor empty. ' I wonder if I can try something…what if I think myself invisible…' She ducked into an alcove, and tried. She looked at her hand, and saw that it was still visible. 'Maybe I can see myself…' she thought. 'Nope, I'm just losing it, obviously.' She laughed, silently and briefly to herself, and then made her way carefully around corners to the playroom.

…

By the time Serena had reached the playroom, Darien, Ami and Lita had reached the end of the passage.

"Where does this open up?" Ami asked.

"Honestly – I don't know," Darien said. He shook his head, "Sorry guys, I didn't have much experience with the upper levels of the castle. I don't even remember where the room was that Jonathan said he was being kept.

"Their playroom, he said," was Ami's automatic response. She never forgot anything. "We'll have to split up, I'm afraid. Otherwise we'll never reach Serena in time to help."

"I really don't like that idea," Darien said with a hard look. "We have no idea who or what is waiting in that castle."

"I don't like it either Darien, but we need to find Serena," Lita argued. "Ami and I will go left, you go right, and we'll meet on the other side of this floor." Darien shook his head, but grudgingly agreed.

"K – just be careful." They listened for noise on the other side of the door, and then pushed it open.

…

Serena heard nothing except heavy breathing coming from the playroom. 'Well, here goes everything.' She quickly opened the door, scanned the room, and saw Jon chained to a chair in a corner of the room.

"Serena! No!" Before she could turn the door slammed shut behind her and she felt hands gripping her arms tightly, forcing her to drop her weapon.

"Damn it, Serena. Why didn't you listen to me?" Jon cried. From behind her, she heard a low, menacing laugh. It sounded vaguely familiar to a sound she remembered from her youth.

"Alex."

"Duh. Aren't you supposed to be worldly? How could you fall for this? I had no expectations that you would actually show up – I thought you were smarter than that. You've disappointed me, Sere." He shifted slightly to hold both her wrists in one of his hands and picked up her sword. She opened her mouth and tried to speak, but found that she couldn't make a sound.

"I am pleasantly surprised that you are here this early. We shall have lots of fun!" He said, ignoring her struggles. Jon began to speak and Alex raised his hand. With a casual flick of his wrist, he rendered Jon unconscious, even though he was on the other side of the room. "I'm getting tired of him talking." Alex explained, as though weary. "I really am delighted that you are here, my dear." Alex said, and without seemingly exerting any effort led her to the large bed to the side of the room, and tied her to a corner near the headboard. "Don't go anywhere, my love, I will be right back. I just have to make sure we are not disturbed." With that, Alex grinned a wicked smirk and walked from the room.


	16. Adrenaline

"Jon." Serena whispered. "JON!" 'Please wake up, please wake UP!' She thought to herself. He, however, showed no signs of waking. 'Alright, Serena. How are you going to get yourself out of this?' She began to struggle at her bonds. Unfortunately, he had taken his time securing her hands to the post, thus making it much more difficult than it could have been. 'My knife!' She realized with a rush of adrenaline that she had a knife tucked into her boot. 'If I can just reach it,' she thought, stretching her leg back and up. She scooted her way down the post as far as she could go...and...ta-da! She could reach it!

...

Lita was the first to hear a man's voice shout out, and instinctively pushed the other two behind her and out of sight behind the door they had just recently exited. They all strained to figure out where the low voices they could faintly hear were coming from.

"That's Serena!" Darien blurted out. "He's got her!"

"Shh Darien." Ami hushed him. She needed to plan. After a few minutes, they heard footsteps and a door close. The footsteps got closer and closer and the trio prayed that the slight crack in the door wouldn't give away their position.

"GUARDS!" They heard a masculine voice yell. "HOW DID INTRUDERS SNEAK INTO THE CASTLE?"

'Intruders! Shit - does that mean he knows we're here?' Lita wondered. She made eye contact with Ami that showed she was wondering the same thing. Then they heard him speaking at a normal volume, and had to be right around the corner from where they were.

"She can't have been alone. Or if she was, the scouts, or at least some of them can't be far behind. Double the watches on the doors. Check the passageways. I want them found. They will only strengthen my...arguments...if they are caught. Find them." And with that, he turned on his heel and walked back the way he had come, back towards the hiding trio, and the playroom.

...

"Okay." Meg said with a pause. "I think I've got it. Poor Serena." Chelsea nodded in agreement.

"I gotta say," Kate broke in, anger plain on her face, "I really don't like this Rae."

"How can you be so calm about this? So understanding? This is unbelievable." Ben ranted. "If I hadn't have seen all this crazy shit, I would have thought it was a big joke and that you guys were mental. I dismissed the guy and the dream I had on the plane, but now maybe it was something more. Oh my God."

"What guy and dream on the plane?" Luna asked.

"Well - it happened like this..."

...

Serena heard Alex shout out orders and knew she had a limited amount of time to cut her bonds. She flipped the knife in the hand and hurriedly began cutting the rope. She heard the voices stop and footsteps start, heading in her direction. She cut through the last strand, ran across the room to grab her sword and then head for Jon. His chains were metal. 'Damn Alex' she thought, then took a swing at the offending steel. It sliced cleanly in two, hardly making a sound in the process. 'Nice!' She said in appreciation, looking at her blade. 'I like this thing.' She then put Jon's hands behind his back to keep up the appearance he was still tied, and hit his cheek lightly. "Jon. Jon. Wake up." He didn't move, but she heard the footsteps getting louder. She sprinted lightly across the room and hid behind the door, sword raised, waiting for it to open.


	17. A Few More Answers

The door opened, Alex strode into the room and within three seconds, Serena swung her sword around, and had it held against his throat. She kicked the door shut as Alex began to laugh.

"Oh Serena, looks like you've got me." She narrowed her eyes. What was he up to?

"Alex, I don't want to hurt you." She backed him up until he was pressed against the door. "Tell me what this is about. What happened to you?"

"It humors me to tell you, so I will." Alex said lazily, examining his fingernails as though there wasn't a razor sharp sword a hair-breadth away from his jugular. "Life wasn't as easy for me as it was for you after everything happened here. After enough shit happened to me I became cynical and jaded. Then I began to see what was important. Prince Diamond "recruited" me, and eventually I convinced him we were on the same side and he let me in on his plans."

"So what do you want? Why follow his plans? Why the violence and destruction, Alex? You used to be so kind and gentle. You were my best friend. My protector. You used to be on the side of Good."

"Wow. You still don't get it? It's power, Serena. Power. I want to rule. And I want you by my side."

...

"It sounds like she's got him!" Lita whispered to the others.

"It sounds like he must have gone through some pretty rough times," Ami commented quietly. "To change him that much."

"Her best friend?" Darien scoffed. "I certainly never heard of him before today. Best friend. Hmph."

"Oh Darien, knock it off," Lita said, hitting him in the arm with her shoulder. "What are we going to do? Should we go in there? Wait for a sign? Let's kick some butt!"

"I think it's best if we wait, Lita." Ami said, softly. We need to figure out what Serena's plan is."

"And then we'll kick some butt!" Lita added with a fist pump. Ami just shook her head and grinned.

...

"Something was obviously trying to drive you and Serena apart." Luna pondered, "the question is, why?"

"Do you think it was that guy from Serena's past? Alex?" Meg asked.

"It's a strong possibility. I don't know who else would do such a thing. Who would gain from them being apart? And why those specific memories?" Luna asked, thinking out loud.

"Coulda been Mama and Daddy in the future. Warning him to stay away." Rini said. She obviously disliked Ben, as was clear in her tone and from the eyebrow she had raised.

"That's possible," Luna said, "but I doubt Serena would do something like that."

"Daddy might," Rini threw in with a smirk. "You know how he gets with other men around Mama."

...

At that very moment, Darien was in fact showing what Rini was talking about.

"Ami - Serena is in there alone with him. You saw how he fought. This has got to be a trap or trick, whatever she's doing can't possibly hold him off for long, and listen to him, he doesn't even sound worried. I don't like it." Darien sounded panicked.

CRASH

All three jumped at the sound of glass breaking followed by a loud thud.

"SERENA!"

...

"Wow. You still don't get it? It's power, Serena. Power. I want to rule. And I want you by my side." As he said the last word, Alex flicked his wrist and sent the sword flying onto the bed. Serena then found herself in the same position Alex had been in just two seconds before.

"Serena, I _will_ help you understand what is really important. I learned many things from Prince Diamond and on my own. You'll soon see things the way I do."

"Get bent," Serena said, and shoved him with all her might, knocking him back a few paces and into a vase, and quickly scampered away.

"So feisty," Alex purred with a grin and gave chase.


End file.
